Prom 18: Bychkov and the BBCSO conquer the Leningrad Symphony in style

Let’s not beat about the bush: the BBC Symphony Orchestra wouldn’t rank among my top ten orchestras in the world. It’s a dab hand at contemporary music, a staple of its regular diet at the Barbican, but for bread-and-butter repertoire it can churn out some variable performances. Semyon Bychkov, however, has a transformative power over its players and in a monumentally impressive account of Dmitri Shostakovich’s Leningrad Symphony that filled the vast expanses the Royal Albert Hall, Bychkov made the BBCSO truly sound one of the world’s greats.